


Flesh, Blood and Bone

by gingeringfigs



Series: Plot Bunnies Fornicating with my Brain [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-22
Updated: 2013-05-22
Packaged: 2017-12-12 16:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/813383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingeringfigs/pseuds/gingeringfigs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The 4th Shinobi War is now over and Madara and Obito have been defeated. But why the heck are there four undead Hokages wandering around Konoha?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flesh, Blood and Bone

**Author's Note:**

> I AM IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTIONS OVER THE RECENT UPDATES IN NARUTO. LET ME THROW AT YOU THIS PLOTBUNNY. SPOILERS AHOY FOR NARUTO 630 AND 631.

##  **Flesh, Blood and Bone**

The 4th Shinobi War was over. With the aid of Konoha's resurrected Hokages, they had successfully defeated Madara and Obito after a long arduous struggle. Out of the four Hokages, the Shodaime Hokage Hashirama was the weariest, having taken no pleasure in killing his best friend Madara. Thus, he was the most prepared and willing to return to the afterlife, to rest in eternal peace.

In converse, the Yondaime Hokage Minato was the most reluctant, not wanting to part with his son that he'd only met for the first time – the conversation that Naruto had with him in his mindscape did not count as that had not been truly himself, but a shade. Even if it meant that he would not be able to see Kushina again until he returned to ashes, Minato _wanted_ to be with his son Naruto, more than anything else in his entire life/afterlife.

But for now, Sasuke hadn't released the Edo Tensei technique yet and seemed to have completely forgotten about them. Not that surprising, considering that the erstwhile rogue ninja had been drawn into the complex political and judical fracas. Some demanded that he pay for his crimes in blood while others wanted a less drastic punishment in the light of new revelations. On top of that, he'd even declared his intention to become _Hokage_. It seemed that it was contagious, as Sakura had also put in her bid for the Hokage candidacy along with Naruto as Team 7. The parallels to the Sannin were glaringly obvious.

Seeing how messy the entire Uchiha Sasuke fiasco was (oh, please don't mention _Obito –_ as far as he was concerned, Minato was not going to _deal_ with it, _ever_ , even if he had been on his genin team- though, yes, he was rather _pissed_ to learn that Obito was the one who had caused the Kyuubi Incident), Minato was relieved that he and his peers hadn't been called upon to act as judges. It was a far too complicated mess that he wasn't going to touch. Secondly, it also dragged out the time he got to stay with Naruto the longer Sasuke was kept occupied by his trial.

Hashirama and Tobirama were not happy with the new turn of events and had isolated themselves from the rest of the village, feeling that they had no more part in the new Konoha. Sarutobi was more complacent and a familiar face to all. He was also understanding of Minato's reluctance to return so quickly to the dead and for that, Minato was grateful.

Sarutobi and Minato often wandered around the village under a cosmetic henge to hide their undead appearance, drawing a mixture of awed and bemused looks from not only Leaf ninja but other shinobi as well (since Konoha was centrally located and had the best medical skills and services available, some of the more injured Allied Shinobi Forces had been sent there to convalesce). Minato often heard his name being mentioned in conjunction with Naruto's; not that surprising now that the knowledge of Naruto's parentage had been made common knowledge with Sarutobi's backing. Hell, if you were to look at Minato and Naruto side by side, you would have to be blind not to see the resemblance.

Currently, the unhenged Minato was lying against a tree in the same training field Team 7 used. In his lap, he had a copy of Jiraiya's "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi" and was rereading it for old time's sake. He was so engrossed in reading that he almost didn't notice his son's presence approaching him. When Naruto was within kunai's throw, Minato looked up and smiled warmly at him, "Hello, Naruto."

"Hey, Dad. What are you reading?" Naruto sat down beside him, curiously leaning over to see what he had in his lap, unperturbed by Minato's undead appearance. He felt warm beside him and the Yin portion of Kurama's chakra in him flared up in response to the close proximity of the Yang portion Naruto possessed. It was akin to being dunked in a lovely hot bath and Minato secretly enjoyed the sensation very much – it was after all, one of the only few things that he could now feel with his deadened senses.

Minato lifted the book up to show him the cover and said, "You've read it before, I presume?"

Naruto immediately recognised the book and brightly grinned, "Oh yeah. It's a good story."

"Yes, it is." Minato companionably said, as he closed the book. He secreted it away in his pocket and languorously stretched his arms with a pleased sigh. Rolling his neck to relieve the few cricks, he raised a curious eyebrow at Naruto and asked, "So, are you here to spar with me again?"

Naruto blinked before he rapidly shook his head, "No, not this time! I just wanted to tell you good news."

"Which is?"

"Um, well…what do you say to the possibility of living in a new fresh body? A live one that is." Naruto was looking at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world, his voice small and hopeful.

_That was unexpected._

Frowning, Minato shot a sharp look at Naruto and sternly said, "While I'm aware that I was originally summoned by a criminal-" "Sasuke's not anymore!" " – I'm not going to let you commit a _kinjutsu_! Do you have any idea how much danger and trouble you're going to be in by messing with Death?"

Minato was _afraid_ for his son. Though yes, he would be very sad to leave when the Edo Tensei technique was ended, it didn't mean that he wanted his son to commit a crime for the purpose of prolonging his second (un)life. Naruto cringed at his stern voice and he defensively said, "It's not anything like _that_! Sakura's discovered some interesting stuff that Orochimaru and Kabuto had been working on…I didn't quite understand all the medical terms she was using, but basically, it's a flesh and blood clone technique. Due to the high chakra usage and its mental lash back, it was deemed as a failure and a kinjutsu. But…with you and me, we might be able to create a new body for you."

If his heart were still beating, it would have stopped. Minato didn't dare to hope. With kage-level restraint, he asked, "What about the other Hokages? Have you asked them?"

Naruto crookedly smiled, "We already did. Not surprisingly, the first two don't want it. I'm a bit disappointed that Sarutobi-jiji declined it though." Ducking his head, he shyly asked, "But…what about you? Do you want it? I'll…understand if you don't want it and want to go back to Mom, but yeah, please give it some thought?"

As if there was any doubt. Minato wrapped his arm around Naruto's shoulders and squeezed firmly. He smiled, "I'll do it. Kushina will understand and she can wait. If there's one thing I know, the dead have all the time in the world but the alive don't."

Naruto looked up in shock, not expecting his father to actually agree. He stammered, "B-but-but, weren't you all against it _earlier_?"

Minato gave him a gentle smile; "I was only against it earlier because I thought that you were going to sacrifice some lives in exchange for mine. Are you aware that Sasuke killed four Zetsu clones in cold blood in order to summon us? I don't want you to do the same as well."

"Oh. I see." Naruto looked a bit pale at the thought of killing in cold blood. Kushina had also been the same, unequivocally against the act of killing. But Naruto wasn't done speaking, "Well, while it wasn't very nice of Sasuke, he's always been a bastard anyway, I can't deny that he saved our collective asses by bringing you back."

Huh, Naruto was definitely a bit more pragmatic than his mother.

Minato snorted lightly and ruffled Naruto's hair, "Hmm, I don't know about that. He actually summoned us for the purpose of interrogating us for information that would help him make his decision to either help Madara or save the world. So it's lucky that he decided to help instead of sending us back, hm?"

Naruto was aghast by the new reveal of how _close_ it had been and that Sasuke was in fact, much more of a _bastard_ than he thought. He protested loudly, "That's it! I'm _not_ letting him become Hokage!"

"I think you'll have no trouble with that." Minato reassuringly said before Naruto went off on another tirade like Kushina would have done in her tantrums. Naruto deflated before perking up, "Oh yeah, now that you agreed, we'd better go to the hospital to see Sakura! Then we can set you up with a new body."

Minato would have agreed, but the elation at the prospect had now worn off. With its disappearance, new worries took his place. Minato pulled Naruto back down before he could go haring off. He said, "But if I'm alive once more in the truest sense of the world, it could affect the political situation drastically. I'm still the Yondaime Hokage. I may have to wear the hat again."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him, "Of course, I know that! I may not be the brightest like you, Dad, but I've thought about it. I've even read the laws, asked Sarutobi-jiji, Hashirama and Tobirama, checked with the Nara…And you know what, you're not going to be in the Hokage seat again when you're alive. You died, so it's now somebody else's turn to be the Hokage. So stop worrying and just do it."

"It still doesn't mean that I'm not without _influence_. I'm still the Yellow Flash and may be called upon by the Council." Minato argued, his brows knitting. Naruto rolled his eyes and he fiercely said, "So _what_? You already dealt with it before and you can do it again. Who cares what the others think? You'll be _alive_ and that's all that matters. Heck, if you're re-elected as the Rokudaime or Nanadaime, I'll be happy because 1) Sasuke's not going to be Hokage 2) you're alive 3)You'll get to finish your job 4) did I mention that you're alive? 5) you're pretty much the best Hokage in history 6)you're still alive. Frankly, I think that more people will be glad to have you back for real than to see you dead. Again."

Minato couldn't argue with Naruto's eloquent reply and could only stare. Naruto evenly returned his gaze before a faint blush crept over his cheeks and his neck. Shooting up to his feet, he tossed up his hands in the air and hissed, "And you know what, I _want_ you around because you're my goddamn _father_. Am I really so _selfish_ to want you to hang around for as long as possible?"

Naruto let his hands drop to his sides as he panted for breath. His eyes were suspiciously bright as he wilfully turned his back to a dumbstruck Minato.

Minato finally whispered, "…You want me to _stay_?"

"No, I'll rather see you dead again and out of my life." Naruto sarcastically said. Ouch. That had actually hurt. Minato winced. Naruto had quite the sharp tongue when he was riled. As Minato watched, his son wiped the back of his hand across his eyes and his voice had a slight wobble as he spoke, "Of course, I want you to fucking _stay_. You're my…family."

Instantly feeling terrible for inadvertently making his son cry, Minato was instinctively up on his feet and wrapping his arms around Naruto before he even realised what he was doing. Feeling incredibly foolish and grateful that they were in a secluded field where no one would see them, Minato tried to calm Naruto, "Of course, I'll stay! Why would I even want to refuse? I was just worried about the consequences, which, now I think about it, were fairly trivial."

Naruto snorted, allowing himself to indulge in the hug even if Minato did feel cold and clammy. Significantly calmer but still vengeful, he elbowed Minato behind him none too gently as he replied, "That's awesome. Now get us thee to the hospital."

Even if Minato was currently a zombie, Naruto's elbow in his gut was still rather uncomfortable. Wondering if that was how his shade had felt when Naruto had punched him, Minato obeyed, "Of course."

In a flash, they went off to the hospital.

**Fin.**

**Author's Note:**

> This is highly likely not going to happen in canon EVER. But LET ME DREAM. Okay so, in the aftermath of the 4th Shinobi War with Madara sent back to the afterlife and Obito commited to lots of THERAPY NO JUTSU and Sasuke being embroiled in politics/tribunal for the shit he pulled, the Edo Tensei technique is not ended. This means that Konoha now has 4 undead Hokages wandering around. The Yondaime Hokage Minato is very happy about this and exploits his new second (un)life to spend time with Naruto.
> 
> The trial goes unexpectedly (perhaps not all that surprising considering the convoluted history and truth) on for a long time, for months. In interim, Sakura discovers a possible method that could allow Minato to live as a normal, living and breathing human being again - a flesh and blood clone jutsu invented by Orochimaru and Kabuto. However, the technique was a failure because of the huge amount of chakra and possible bad psychological side-effects. But since Minato's already dead and he does possess Kurama's chakra and Naruto's contributing, they decide to take the risk.
> 
> With Naruto's chakra and donation of blood/DNA, Minato's DNA samples on bank and chakra, they manage to activate the jutsu. It initially goes well but something goes wrong in the process. The new body they create for Minato does not reach Minato's physical age and is stuck at Naruto's age. Minato also loses memories of his adult life and can only remember up to age 16. Minato is now alive...but as a teenaged boy with no recollection of his adult self and his real relation to Naruto. So everyone decides to pretend that Minato is Naruto's brother. Naruto is very upset by the new turn of events and has to take a while to come round to the new Minato as a brother instead of a father he had been hoping to gain. Sasuke is surprisingly sympathetic to Naruto.
> 
> The rest of the AU plot basically deals with how Minato and Naruto deal with their new relationship and whether or not Minato will get back his adult memories or change into his adult appearance. It involves Naruto being very tsundere with Minato and Minato experiencing all sorts of confused feelings towards Naruto.
> 
> Sakura ships them btw.


End file.
